The first Hardback that Wisden produced was in 1896, this is the fourth year of the hardback and an extremely hard copy to find, probably the third hardest hardback to find (above 1898) especially in this condition.

No restoration.

Boards: exceptionally good. The white marks which have shown up under the flash on the spine are only faintly visible to the naked eye.

Gilt: excellent/as new on the front board and on the spine. The quality of the rest of the book leads me to believe that this is the original gilt.

Binding: exceptionally tight, to the extent that the book feels pretty much unread. Hinges and guttering both excellent.